Sugar-jack press



June 22,1926. 1589,5958

I T. A. HARPER SUGAR JAQK PRESS Filed August 15. 1925 2 Smeets sheflz 1 w T W 1 June 22 1926.. 1,589,958

T. A. HARPER SUGAR JACK PRESS Filed us 13, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lil Patented .lune 223, 1926.

UNITEQ QFFICE.

THOMAS A. HARPER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE'HALF TO JESSIE M; STEES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SUGAR-JACK PRESS.

Application filed August This invention has to do with improvements in what are known as sugar jack presses. These presses are used for the production of a feed known as sugar jack for 5 live stock. The sugar jack press is in the form of a vertical or nearly vertical shaft or chute, generally made of wood and in construction somewhat similar to a small sized silo. The raw material is introduced into the upper end of the chute and as the n'iaterial works down through the chute a distance of ten or twelve feet fermentation or other actions take place resulting in the production of what is known as sugar jack by the time the material'reaches the lower end of the shaft.

Ordinarily the sugar jack press is placed with its lower end supported two or three feet above the floor onto which the material is delivered. and the material collects in a pile below the lower end of the press. This material is very heavy and soggy and cakes into a rather solid mass. Furthermore, the press itself usually has a diameter of four or live feet, so that the mass of material standing on the floor beneath the press is cumbersome and difficult to handle. In fact, it has been somewhat of a drawback to the introduction and use of sugar jack presses because of the difficulty and labor of removing the material.

The main object of the present invention to provide means for greatly facilitating and simplifying the removal of the mass of material from beneath the lower end of the sugar jack press. In this connection, it is an object to provide a winch which is so constructed and related to the lower portion of the sugar jack press as to make it possible to apply a very large force for the removal of the accumulation of material, by the application of a relatively easy driving force.

A further object of the invention is to so arrange and construct this winch that it may be readily applied and connected to sugar jack press construct-ions already well known and in extended use.

Other objects and uses of the invention will appear from a detailed description of the same which consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

13, 1925. Serial No. 49,950.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the lower portion of the sugar jack press having applied thereto a winch embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a horizontal section on the line 22 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig; 3 shows a fragmentary view corres )onding to Fig. 1, but illustrating a modilied application of the construction and principles of the winch; and

Fig. 4 shows aplan view taken on the line 4. 1 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows. V

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the lower portion of the shaft is designated by the numeral 5. This shaft is preferably made of vertical staves 6, as illustrated in Fig; 2, the same being bound together by a series of bands 7 around its central portion, together with a bottom band 8 around the lower edge of the staves. The shaft proper is supported with its lower end above the fioor 9 in any convenient manner, generally by means of a pair of vertical legs 10 and 11. These legs are conveniently formed'of channel bars placed with the flanges facing outwardly, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The upper ends of the channel bars are connected to the shaft in any convenient manner as by means of the bolts 12.

The clearance of the lower end of the shaft above the floor is generally two or three feet and allows for the accumulation of a pile of the sugar jack material, illus trated by means of dotted lines 13. Naturally this pile of material will be of rather irregular shape, but it is generally a solid compact, heavy, sticky mass.

The winch comprises a pair of horizontal bars 14- and 15 preferably in the form of channel iron placed against the inside faces of the legs 10 and 11 at a considerable distance above the floor, but below the lower end 8 of the shaft. These bars 14: and 15 are braced by brace bars 16 having their lower ends also secured to the legs 10 and 11.

The bars 14 and 15 reach sidewise to a distancc somewhat beyond the position of the sugar jack shaft 5; and a horizontal shaft 17 extends between the projecting end portions of said bars l t and. 159 For this pun (ill pose, the brackets 18 and 19 are mounted on said projecting end portions, the shaft 17 being journaled therein.

A gear 20 secured to the shaft 17 prcferably at a position outside of the bar '14, the same being driven by a pinion 2]. suitably journaled with respect to the bar it and operated by a crank On the shaft 17 there is mounted a pair of forwardly facing hooks 23 and 24 to receive eyes 25 and 26 on the ends of a rope or cable 27.

When the sugar jack is to be drawn oul from beneath the press, the cable 27 is looped around behind the pile l3 and the ends of said cable are hooked onto the hooks 23 and 24. Upon driving the shaft by the crank, the cable will have its ends wrapped onto the shaft and the rear portion of the cable will be found to draw the pile of accumulated material sidcwise as shown by the dotted lines 28 and 29 in Fig. l. The cable is found to be a very etfect-ive means for securing this result, and it is found that owing to the compact nature of the sugar jack material, the cable does not cut its way through the material. but seems to compact it and cause the entire mass to be moved over and away from the lower end of the shaft. The amount of this possible movement is limited only by the position of the shaft 17.

The arrangement above described is a self-contained device which in effect constitutes portion of the lower end of the sugar jack press itself.

In some cases it may be desirable to in crease the pulling degree of the outfit beyond that which can be secured by a simple ,Iear reduction. This can be done either by increasing the gear ratio between the crank 22 and the shaft W, or recourse may be had to a supplemental arrangement illustrated in Figs. 8 and 4-. This supplemental arrangement is particularly available in those cases where there is a stationary post or other object of suflicient strength located in proximity to the position of the sugar jack press.

Tn the case illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4;, there is a post 30, located to one side of the position of the sugar jack press. A block 31 is anchored to the post 30, the same being provided with the pulleys 32 and 33. Another block 34; is connected to the center of a single-tree 85, said block 34 having a pulley 36. The eyes 25 and 26 of the cable 27 are hooked onto the ends of the single tree A rope 87 has one end connected to the block 34-, at the point 38. This rope then passes over the pulleys 32, 36 and 33 in succession and is then hooked onto the hook 38 in the center of the shaft 17. As a result, upon turning the crank 22 the rope 37 will he wound onto the shaft 17 and the power will e comn'iunicated to the single-tree through the medium of the double pulley reduction. This will give a very large increase in pulling efficiency with the advantage of a corresponding improvement in gear ratio.

lit. will be noted that the same winch construclion may be used either directly in connection with the cable 27 or through the medium of a further reduction by the use of the pulley blocks where a fixed point of support is con veni cntly accessible at a proper position with respect to the lower end of the sugar jack.

lVhilc l: have herein shown and described only a single embodiment of the features of my present invention, still I do not intend to limit myself to the same, except as I may do so in the claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with the hollow substantially vertical shaft of a sugar jack press having its lower end spaced above a floor surface whcreon the sugar jack material collects, of a pair of vertical stands at the sides of the lower portion of said shaft serving to support the same above the floor, horizontal substantially parallel bracket arms secured to said stands and reaching sidewise to a position beyond the projected surface of the hollow shaft aforesaid, a horizontal. shaft extending between and journaled to the on d portions of said arms, a crank handle journaled to one of the arms, a gearing con nection from said crank handle to the shaft, a pair of books secured to the shaft inter mediate between the bearings aforesaid, and a cable having eyes on its ends adapted to engage the shaft hooks aforesaid, said cable being of sufficient length to reach around the sides and back of the pile of sugar jack material standing on the floor beneath the sugar jack press when the ends of the cable are hooked onto the shaft, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a sugar jack press having a substantially vertical hollow shaft open at its lower end and supported with its lower end spaced above a floor surface whcrcon the sugar jack material collects as it is delivered from the lower end of the press, of a horizontal shaft located to one side of and in proximity to the lower end of the hollow shaft aforesaid, means for driving said shaft as desired, suitable hooks on the shaft, and a cable having its ends provided with eyes to engage said hooks and be wound on the shaft, said cable being of suficient length to reach around the back side of the pile of sugar jack material on the floor beneath the press when the ends of the cable are hooked onto the shaft and the cable is unwound from the shaft, substan tially as described.

0. The combination with a shaft jack press havmg a substantially Vertical hollow shaft open at its lower end and supported with its lower end spaced above a floor surface whereon the sugar jack material collects, of means for moving the sugar jack material sidewise from its position between the lower end of the press and the floor surface incl uding a able reaching around the sides and back of the pile of sugar jack material and having its end portions brought into relatively close proximity, together With means for drawing the cable sidewise to thereby also draw the accumulated pile of sugar jack material sidewise away from its position beneath the press, substantially as described.

THOMAS A. HARPER. 

